Page 35 of Power
Mark takes in a breath and flicks his gaze to Liam. “No, that’s not a good idea,” Mark says. “We don’t know what threat there might be at her house.”
I look out the door and notice the sun is falling in the sky. “We’ll be going under the cover of nightfall. Take two of the plain cars. We’ll be completely undetected.”
“Bennett,” Liam whispers. I look at him and he slowly shakes his head.
I turn my attention to Mark. “Make it happen.”
“Yes, sir.” Mark leaves, closing the door behind him.
“What are you doing? All this for a whore?” Liam asks. I turn and smash him in the mouth, making him stumble backward to catch his fall. The shock of me hitting Liam stuns both of us. He nods slowly as he rubs at his chin. “I thought so,” he says as he walks over to me. “She means a lot to you.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose as I shake my head. “I can’t believe I did that. I’m so sorry,” I apologize to Liam. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“You care for her.” He places his hand on my shoulder again and nods. “There’s nothing wrong in feeling something for her. But this is going to become complicated incredibly fast.”
“It doesn’t have to be. We can sneak in there, and sneak out.”
“Sure. Tonight, you can. But what about the next time she’s hurt?”
“There won’t be a fucking next time.” My forehead crinkles as I pull my brows together. “She’s not working anymore.”
Liam grunts with a half-smile. “Oh, she’s not? You’ve already talked about this with her?”
“She’ll do what I tell her.”
Liam shakes his head. “You don’t like her because she does what you tell her, Bennett. You like her because she doesn’t.” He steps back and rubs at his jaw again. “It’s the reason why you loved Kathryn, too. She challenged you, and you thrive on people standing up to you.” I find myself nervously shoving my hands into my pockets. “We’ve been best friends for years before you even thought of running for president. When it comes to your women, you like them with a backbone. Kathryn...Reece.”
“I...” I shake my head and lower my chin to look at my shoes. “I’m going to lose the presidency if it’s found out.”
Liam chuckles. “Probably, my friend.” He pats me on the back and walks over to the scotch, pours two drinks and hands me one. “But, look at the scandals this house has had to endure over the years.” He holds up a finger. “Thomas Jefferson, and his advances weren’t even wanted, but she had no choice but to fulfill his wishes.”
“That’s different. They weren’t in an era of social media, where with one click of a button, the entire world knows what’s happening within moments.”
“Don’t forget, we’ve also had a president impeached twice.”
“He wasn’t reelected, much as he tried to convince the nation otherwise, Liam.”
“You never know what the future holds.” He shrugs as he throws his scotch back. “I’m just saying, yeah, you may lose the presidency over this, but if it’s what your heart wants, then...”
“Mr. President?” Mark announces as he barges into the Oval Office. “We have two cars, sir.”
I click my tongue to the roof of my mouth. “Thank you.” I throw my drink back and look to Liam, offering him a small appreciative nod. “Right.” I take my briefcase as we walk out. I look at Mark and grind my teeth together. “Get me everything you can on the person who did this to her.” He gives me a silent, knowing nod. I’m going to destroy the fucker who put his hands on my woman. He’s going to wish he was never born.
I walk into Reece’s home, surprised by how comfortable and large it is. “She’s in the family room, sir,” Mark instructs as he leads me past the kitchen to the left and down the hallway. The moment my eyes land on Reece, I suck in a breath. Jesus.
She looks up to see who’s in her house and gasps. “What are you doing here?” she asks. I walk over and sit beside her where she’s huddled under a blanket. “Stop looking at me with pity.”
“Your face is bruised, and you look like you’ve been beaten up.”
“That’s because I have been,” she replies sourly.
I look to my men and flick my gaze at them. “Give me the room.” All the Secret Service leave, except for Mark. I jerk my head to the side, indicating he needs to leave, too. He heads out of the family room, but I can see his shoes peeking out from the hallway. I reach across to touch Reece’s bruised cheek, and she flinches as I run the back of my hand down her face. “You can’t do this anymore.”
“What?”
“You can’t keep doing this anymore, Reece. Look at what happened to you. If Grayson wasn’t there...”
Reece points to her face and tries to smile. But her lip is busted and inflamed. “This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. It’s an occupational hazard.”
